Information for authors

Find out how to become a Pearson author or reviewer, and how to submit a book proposal to us at Pearson Business or Financial Times Publishing.

We publish trade, consumer and professional books in business, finance, management, strategy, entrepreneurship, personal development, popular psychology and careers. We're looking for practical, informative and engaging books that help readers improve at work and in life.

  • Designed for everyone, and covering business and personal development, Pearson Business books deliver the brightest ideas and help our readers make the most of their business lives whether you want more confidence or less stress, a new skill or a different perspective.
  • Designed for leaders, executives and professionals, Financial Times Publishing brings together the best business minds with the latest business thinking. Covering leadership, strategy and finance, we publish practical content that fulfils the learning needs of an ambitious and successful professional readership.

Find out how to become a Pearson author, and how to submit a book proposal to us at Pearson Business or Financial Times Publishing.

Why become a Pearson author?

As a Pearson author, you’ll benefit from our:

  • elite publishing brands with world-class reputations
  • collaborative author coaching and publishing expertise
  • excellence in product development and design
  • experience in innovation
  • access to more markets, and high street book stores
  • global reach and strength in sales and marketing.

How to submit a proposal

Thanks for considering Pearson as a home for your book. If you can follow these guidelines to submit your proposal, it will really help us to understand your idea and see if it’s a good fit for our publishing programme.

As you write your proposal, remember that a simple premise makes it easier to sell a book. This doesn’t mean that we shy away from difficult subjects, just that we’re looking for a book with a clear approach to its subject and compelling positioning.

Please also remember that we’re looking for books with a long shelf life. By this we mean that we want to publish books that we can make bestsellers for many years across many editions.

Once we’ve received your proposal, we’ll get in touch with our feedback as soon as we can. We hope you’ll understand that it may take some time for us to get back to you. Please let us know if you need a response urgently or if your book is under consideration by another publisher.

If you’re going to submit a book proposal to us, please use the following headings:

  1. Title (and subtitle)
  2. Pitch
  3. Contents
  4. Target market
  5. About the Author
  6. Competition
  7. Delivery details
  8. Author marketing
  9. Contact details

Who to contact

If you have a business, management or personal development book idea for the Pearson Business or Financial Times Publishing imprints, please get in touch.
eloise.cook@pearson.com - Eloise Cook, Publisher - Pearson Business and Financial Times Publishing

Why we might say no

The most common reasons why we turn down a new book proposal are:

  • It doesn’t fit - Sometimes books don’t fit with our publishing strategy or our channels to market. If they’re not right for us we’ll be quick to say that we won’t make the best home for them.
  • Clash in the plan - We already have a book on our publication schedule which is too similar to the proposed title.
  • Flash in the pan - Some books are so topical that they only have a short shelf life. We’re looking for books that we can make bestsellers for many years, and with many editions.
  • The book doesn’t have an obvious audience - Our books have a clear and purposeful focus on improving the reader’s life. Elegant theories and elaborate models can be seductive to authors and publishers alike, but we have to be convinced that the book will deliver real benefits to real people.